Blake looked down at the small sign in his hand.
A piece of deep red jade, smooth to the touch. Carved on it was the head of a house‑elf, its big eyes staring solemnly outward. Apart from that, nothing—no runes, no words.
But if one felt closely enough, faint traces of alchemy could be sensed.
My own technique, Blake thought. Yes, definitely my own work.
Ariana stood beside him, smiling.
"Want to try it? See the army I've raised for you?"
More than twenty thousand young, trained house‑elves. Calling it an "army" wasn't an exaggeration.
Blake nodded, turning the jade token over once more in his hand. Then, following instinct—and memory—he pressed his right thumb gently to the surface.
At once, part of his consciousness seemed to sink into the jade.
And there, before him, a sky of light: thousands upon thousands of tiny points, shining with different brightness.
He could feel it at once: each light, large or small, was a house‑elf. Each represented a living will bound by loyalty.
Blake randomly selected one of the brighter lights, letting his mind dip into it.
Suddenly, he was seeing through another's eyes—a young elf, busy washing dishes in a large kitchen. Its bat‑like ears twitched, listening carefully.
From beyond, voices floated in. Wizards speaking quickly—in Portuguese, it seemed. Blake himself didn't understand. But the elf did, perfectly.
Blake's eyes widened.
They're undercover... actually living inside wizard families!
And not just any families. These were the old, rich, noble lines—the very households that could afford to keep house‑elves as "property."
Some families even had more than one elf.
But poorer families—like the Weasleys—rarely had any.
And of course, many in power across the wizarding world came from these old houses.
So in those households... all the elves secretly serve me? Blake thought, amazed. Then what secrets remain hidden? Wizards never hide much from their elves...
With a thought, Blake withdrew and picked another light.
This time, he found himself inside a house‑elf cleaning an office.
A quick glance told him everything: stone walls, gilded plaques, the crest of the French Ministry of Magic.
Then the British Ministry must have them too... and likely Ministries all over the world...
After a few more glimpses, Blake pulled his consciousness back, his thoughts racing.
Ariana was still smiling.
"How is it? Do you like my gift?"
"If I say I don't like it, I'd be struck by lightning," Blake said, a little breathless. "Thank you, Aunt Ariana."
"You're welcome. After all, I promised you I would do this."
Blake felt a wave of quiet emotion. He had helped her, true—but she had kept her promise faithfully, for seventy or eighty years, building this vast secret network.
And now she had handed it over.
Blake turned the jade token in his hand.
I'm their real master, he thought. I wouldn't need this token to command them.
But then he realized: if someone else held this token, they could temporarily command the elves too. The soul imprints of all those elves were inside.
So... the future me must have made this token to let someone else lead them if I wasn't there.
Blake's mind raced forward.
When I start time travel, I can't take this token with me. Its value is in the present, not the past. I'll need to entrust it to someone I trust completely.
Old Lepp? Perhaps. But he already had too much to do.
Blake's gaze sharpened; he opened his eyes of reality slightly, memorizing every rune and layer inside the token.
Then he raised his head.
"Aunt Ariana... do you have plans for the future?"
"Plans?" Ariana tilted her head, thinking. "Hmm... I'm not sure."
For decades, her purpose had been single‑minded: build this incredible network. Now, with the jade token returned, she seemed momentarily aimless.
Blake hesitated, then spoke.
"I know this is asking a lot, but... could you keep helping me manage this power?"
Ariana raised an eyebrow, then laughed.
"So, you're asking me to help again? You know, my salary is very high."
"No problem!" Blake said quickly. "Even if I go bankrupt, I'll rob Gringotts before I miss your payment!"
Ariana covered her mouth, laughing.
"Alright, I won't tease you. I'm not short of money, really."
With so many elves, many still in training or gathering intelligence, there had been huge costs over the years. But Ariana had managed it.
"Actually," she added, her smile fading into seriousness, "I came today to join the Fourth Natural Disaster. I promised you I would."
At those words, both Blake and Old Lepp instinctively took a small step back.
"Did I really tell you that?" Blake asked, suspicious.
Ariana touched the ring of power on her finger.
"Of course. Would you give this to someone you didn't trust?"
Blake fell silent, staring at the ring. Ariana wasn't yet on the system directory—but that was because he hadn't lived through that time yet.
He chose to trust his future self.
"Then... I'll ask you again, Aunt Ariana," Blake said softly, pressing the token back into her hand.
"Alright. You've already memorized the soul marks of the elves," Ariana pointed out. "So you don't really need the token. And they've felt your presence too—the true master has returned."
She slipped the token away, still smiling.
Blake scratched his head, embarrassed. It wasn't normal to memorize tens of thousands of soul marks—but his memory was something else entirely.
"Ahem... well..."
"It's fine," Ariana interrupted gently. "After so many years, it's normal to be cautious."
If you were really kind, you wouldn't tease me about it... Blake thought, seeing the grin on her face.
He wondered what stories his future self had told her.
"By the way," Ariana said, tilting her head, "didn't you say that every important member of the Fourth Natural Disaster gets a staff dormitory? I'm an important member, right? So... where's mine?"
Blake blinked.
Old Lepp coughed awkwardly.
"I believe she really is your aunt," Old Lepp muttered. "She's got your shamelessness."
"Old Lepp," Blake said gravely, "this glorious task falls to you."
"Ah... but I had plans...," Old Lepp began, half‑turning away.
"What plans? You don't need to recruit elves anymore," Blake insisted, patting his shoulder. "And what could be more important than building my aunt's dormitory?"
"Alright, alright... but easy on the shoulder," Old Lepp grumbled, resigning himself.
At least there were more people on the mountaintop now; construction would go quickly.
As workers gathered wood and tools, Blake and Ariana sat together, watching the bustle.
Ariana took a fruit from Blake's hand.
"Alright, I know you've got questions. Ask. If I can answer, I will."
"Well... first question," Blake began. "How did you afford to support so many elves? That can't have been cheap."
"You left me a lot of money," Ariana said calmly. "I used it to start some businesses. The profits kept things going."
"What businesses?" Blake pressed.
Ariana hesitated.
"That... I can't say right now."
"Ah," Blake nodded. He understood. It must be something the future him taught her—knowledge he hadn't yet earned.
"Alright... second question: how did you spread the elves worldwide?"
This time, Ariana's expression turned uneasy.
"Can't say?"
"I can... but...," she began, her eyes avoiding his.
Blake waited.
"Slave trade, Blake," she whispered finally. "House‑elves are seen as property... so during that time, I became a slave trader."
She looked away, shame flickering on her face.
"But I didn't profit by selling them. I just... placed them where they needed to be."
Blake understood at once.
She had sold undercover elves directly into wizard families—families who believed they owned them, never suspecting these elves remained loyal to Ariana and, through her, to Blake.
But to do it, Ariana had to become what she hated.
"That must have been hard," Blake murmured.
Ariana gave a small nod.
Wizards like the Malfoys treated house‑elves cruelly. Sending loyal elves into those households must have felt like betrayal.
"Thank you," Blake whispered. "You did what had to be done."
"What about Dumbledore and the others?" Blake asked, quickly changing the subject. "They don't know you joined us, do they?"
"Do you want them to know?" Ariana asked.
"No," Blake replied at once.
"But if I move around openly, my brother will notice," Ariana said thoughtfully. "Perhaps... we should set up a front—a company. Every secret group needs a mask, or you'll all be discovered eventually."